Sub-Species
by BuffaloBorgine
Summary: Steampunk Victorian Era with Supernatural creatures – Sherlock AU Main pairing: Sherlock Holmes & Sebastian Moran/Jim Moriarty. Rate M for safety.
1. Chapter 1

Sub-Species  
Characters: Sherlock Holmes, Jim Moriarty, Sebastian Moran, Mycroft Holmes, Eurus Holmes, John Watson, Gregory Lestrade …  
Mode and Age: Steampunk Victorian Era with Supernatural creatures – Sherlock AU.

Chapter 1

'Dear Mister Brooke,  
We have received your blueprints of the newly improved steam machine and have adapted it. We are very grateful to have been the first tester. The new addition is impressively useful in producing more steam power. Sadly, as we are no inventor, we do not know what to do with the second part of the addition. It seems like the bolts are quite specialized. We would like to invite you to come work directly for us tomorrow so the machine can run smoothly. The horse cart will be sent to pick you up at your house at six in the morning.  
Sincerely,  
Director of Mech&Tech Inc.'

Richard sat at his small desk, reading the letter. A happy exhale escaped his lungs. Finally he had got the job he had always been dreaming about - an official steam engineer. He was so excited about the promising work, very much, that night, he couldn't sleep. He dreamed of flying steam-powered gear birds and adaptable gear-based artificial body parts.

The drive to London was quite comfortable thanks to the luxurious cart Richard was given. He enjoyed the scenery on the way, though on arrival in the Capital, the young engineer was taken aback by the grim looking of it.

Grey sky, grey houses, grey pavement, even the people were grey. Something was not right. But what was it?

Stepping out of the cart, Richard was entirely engulfed in the thick fog of the city. He realized that the fog was so thick (thicker than any fog he had ever seen) that even his sight was limited badly. Gladly, he had just invented a pair of goggles that help dealing with reduced sight caused by bad weather and it helped very much in this situation. Upon wearing the goggles, Richard finally regained his sight and headed into the workshop of Mech&Tech Inc.

"Ah, Mister Brooke. I have been waiting for you." A chubby man in three-pieced suit greeted him at the door, holding out a hand sincerely. Glancing at the name tag, Richard noticed that this man is the director himself.

"It's my fortune to be invited here today, mister Director." Richard smiled and shook the hand of the other man. "I have been looking forwards to working here for years."

"Well, here you are now, young man. After reading through your blueprints, I know that you will be a gemstone in this industry." Mister Director laughed heartily and pats Brooke's back. "You have talents, you know. Fixing those machines require lots of knowledge. But you, you can even improve them. I must say that if you choose to work for us in the long time, we will be very grateful."

"I hope to cooperate with you as long as we can, sir." Richard smiled. Maybe the beginning wouldn't be very hard.

A siren could be heard from far away. The wailing sound informed bad news.

Richard looked out of the window of his workplace. Police car then. Probably some crime had just happened. He tried not to think of what the crime was and put his mind back to his current work. A knock on the door distracted him.

"Please come in." Richard cleaned the residual oil on the gears and turned to greet whoever coming in.

"Hi. You must be the new Engineer." A brunette with lovely face pushed the door gently and put her head in. Richard could see that she was blushing lightly. Cute. "My name is Molly. Molly Hooper. I work in the Testing Lab. Nice to meet you."

 _30 years old. Having past as Cum Laude in General Science and Medicine at Oxford University. Energetic but shy. Love cats more than dogs, especially hate arachnids. Enjoy domestic relationship._

"Nice to meet you too, Molly. My name is Richard Brooke." He smiled in a friendly way. "Would you like to have lunch with me at lunch break? Maybe you can show me a good restaurant. Don't be worried. I will pay."

Molly nearly dropped her lower jaw at that, her blushing became blatant. _Never been in a relationship. Obviously._

"Oh well, if it's too much, we can go have lunch another day." Richard smiled and winked at the girl.

"No, it's nothing… I mean it's very nice of you." Molly blushed greatly with embarrassment while scratching her head. "So… See you at noon. At the gate?"

"Sure." Richard grinned and waved his goodbye to her.

Suddenly, his vision shifted. Everything covered in old, grey color. And Molly had a large fish tail with fins and scales. Richard frowned and blinked his eyes. Nothing wrong, it was still his workroom, and Molly was standing at the door, frowning at him.

"Mister Brooke, are you alright?" She asked with confusion.

Richard shook his head and blinked a few more times to make sure himself was not hallucinating. "Yeah… I think I am quite tired and dehydrated… I will go get some water."

"Oh, okay. If you need help, just ask. I don't mind." Molly nervously watched as the new engineer shifted around his workroom to get a bottle of water.

"Thank you… Ah, I am fine now." Brooke took a gulp of water and smiled. "You should go back to the lab."

"Okay then… See you later." Molly casted a glance at Richard before leaving, closing the door for him.

Richard sat back on the chair, resting his left arm on his forehead. _Jesus Christ! What the Hell was that? I must have overworked myself._ He thought and took another gulp of water. After making sure that his body wasn't running a fever, Richard went back to his work. He still had five steam tanks and one lifting arm to enhance before lunch.

Gladly, nothing went wrong till lunchtime. He finished all the given jobs and even had time to work on his own creation - a portable and scrollable geographer. He had always dreamed exploring the world on foot so he made this map-drawer to his assist in the future. Well, he had a long list of things to do but he had just been able to work on the weather-resisting goggles and the hand-held map-drawer. Richard sighed as he looked at the list of his to-do works, well, he needed to work harder or he would become an old man before he could set food on his exploring trip.

A gentle knock on the door pulled him out of his thinking. Richard quickly put on his jacket along with his beret and headed to the door. Molly was there, wearing a simple striped scarf, waiting for him.

"Oh hi there, Richard. Are you ready to go?" She smiled with excitement, which made the young man huff in amusement.

"Yes, of course. Now, surprise me with a wonderful lunch, will you?"

The food at Speedy's was good, especially the sandwiches. And the porridge was not too bad though Richard still could not say that he liked it (he only picked it because Molly urged him). He hated porridge. Who doesn't hate it if their whole childhood was filled full of it every single meal?

"So how do you think?" Molly asked him while eating a scone of vanilla ice cream.

"I love this place, the meal is good and it has a lovely space." He smiled as he stuffed his mouth full of grapes. "Maybe I will stick to it every lunch now."

"That's great. I'm glad you like it." Molly exclaimed her happiness. "So… How do you think if we, well, hang out together more often?"

Richard looked up from his bowl of porridge. "I think it's a great idea. Actually, I need help finding a place to stay in London since moving back to Dublin isn't my choice now. And I also need help with settling in the company."

"Don't worry about that, I will make sure that you get on well with everyone." The scientist smiles reassuringly at her friend, which made Richard return with his very rare innocent smile.

 _Maybe everything isn't so bad, like what they taught me in the orphanage. Perhaps I can give myself a chance._

"Mister Brooke, can you bring over the pump machine? Our client has arrived." Charles, the receptionist, called from the first floor.

Richard picked up the machine, along with its additional parts, put them all in a box and carried it downstairs. This one was a blood pump machine that St Barth hospital had sent for some modification. Richard had added an upgrade to the device which would help increasing the speed of the pumping process (though he still needed further test runs to make sure that the upgrade was successful).

While the engineer was deep in his thought, a tall figure approached him from behind with fast speed and bumped into him. Richard fell face first but the box the device protected his face from landing on the floor. He was glad that there were soft cloth in the box or else there would be bruises on his face. What happened next made the young engineer reconsider about his luck. His body was abruptly pulled straight up then shoved violently at the wall, Richard then found himself staring straight into a pair of cold cyan blue eyes.

"What's your name?" The tall man in vest with backward-combed black hair, who was pinning him to the wall, asked with a low, growling, London-accent voice.

"Rich… Richard Brooke… Uh, sir…?" Scott swallowed hard, not daring to move a single limp. Through the thick fabric of his shirt sleeves, Richard could still feel the freezing temperature of the man's hands. _Is this man alive after all? Oh wait, if he isn't alive, how can he stand right here, in front of me? Maybe his temperature is already cold…_

The man's eyes narrowed a bit before enlarging back to their normal size. "Oh, it's so rude of me. I'm very sorry. You… You look like someone I know…" He carefully put the smaller man down on his feet and picked up the dropped box while looking at Richard up and down. "You must be the new engineer in the company, hmm?"

Richard was still confused after the encounter and received the box from the other man. "Ah… Ah yeah, my name is Richard Brooke, I'm new here…" His eyes opened wide with the realization. "Wait, how did you know?"

"Molly told me about you. She said that you have some easily recognizable features… Like your big, doe-like, black eyes." The stranger smiled, a predatory smile, which sent chill to Richard's spine, then he held out his left hand. "The name is Sherlock Holmes, it's wonderful that we meet."

" _William Sherlock Scott Holmes…_ " Richard subconsciously spoke out then blinked his eyes fast as the taller man stared at him with wide-opened eyes as if he had a third eye or something. _What was that? Why did I speak out that name? It's so embarrassing! Oh God! I need a hole to bury myself in it right now!_

"I mean, ugh, nice to meet you too, Mister Holmes… Really!" Richard awkwardly smiled back and took the hand offering to him, knowing that he had probably fucked himself up. The way Sherlock continued to stare at him made Richard feel goose bumps rising on his skin.

After they shook hands, Holmes gave a quick smirk at the young engineer (Richard couldn't understand what the smirk was for) before straightening his vest. "So, I believe you are looking for a place to stay in London?"

"Miss Hooper must have told you so. I come from Dublin, it's very far from here so I think if I settle down in London my work will be easier…" Richard explained. His worry of Mister Holmes's abnormal way of behavior increased sharply as the man chuckled.

"I am looking for a second person living in. I rent an apartment and my current flat mate can only afford one third of the rental fee. As for my part, I cannot pay more than half of the fee, so we have agreed on finding a third person." Sherlock grinned. "I you agree, you can move in right this evening, if that is okay."

 _All right, Rich, this man is totally not normal. He is offering a very cheap renting fee to some stranger who he has just met for about five minutes… It's ridiculous!_

"Now, I hope you are not feeling awkward, I have also brought the renting contract here so you can sign on it." Mister Holmes grinned and took out the contract from his inner pocket and handed it to the too confused engineer in front of him.

Richard received the contract, still staring at the taller man with great confusion. _What should I do?_

Seeing the hesitation in the eyes of the Irish man, Sherlock decided that he shouldn't push this problem further.

"I am sorry if I made you confused, Mister Brooke. I will leave you to think about it. Just take your time." With that, the pale gentleman took off his hat in a greeting manner and left.

And the poor engineer still didn't know what to do.

In the veiled highest chamber of the mansion, Sherlock looked out into the foggy crowded street. His eyes fixated on one single figure. The young Irish engineer was in on the pavement, probably looking for a horse cart. The image was like a rain to his thirsty, which he tried to drink as much as he could into his acrid soul.

"It's him again, isn't it?" A stern, concerned voice rose from behind him. Sherlock didn't turn around.

"Isn't it obvious?" Holmes replied coolly, leaving not a single hint of emotion in the sentence.

A blond man in casual clothes walked over to Sherlock, his posture showed years of experience in military service. "This is going to be a very bad habit, Sherlock. You can't…"

"I know what I am doing, my dear Watson." Sherlock cut him off, too fed up with meaningless advice. "Now if you don't have anything better to tell me, you should go do some check-ups for your patients."

The shorter man gave out a frustrated and annoyed huff then turned his heel, heading to the door. He halted before opening the door. "One last time, Sherlock. Call me John."

Sherlock only smirked at the warning, satisfied with the sound of closing door. His attention was still on Richard, who had just got himself a horse cart. The vehicle dashed off into the thick fog of London night, then vanished into the darkness. The pale gentleman at the window has also vanished into thin air.


	2. Chapter 2

Sub-Species  
Characters: Sherlock Holmes, Jim Moriarty, Sebastian Moran, Mycroft Holmes, Eurus Holmes, John Watson, Gregory Lestrade …  
Mode and Age: Steampunk Victorian Era with Supernatural creatures – Sherlock AU.

Chapter 2

 _Step by step, he moved through the snow-covered forest floor. The air smelled of fresh snow._

 _And blood._

 _Horses neighing. Sword clashing. Warriors shouting._

 _His eyes widened. The pupils dilated. Time stopped._

" _You are a daydreamer." Said the pale man in front of him._

 _Images shifting. Black, then white. Then red. Crimson red. Burning pain of a sensation._

" _And you have dreamt yourself out of the meaning of ordinary human." That voice continued._

 _He tried to say something but his tongue couldn't move. Actually, his whole body couldn't move. He couldn't do anything. Helpless._

" _You should be rewarded. You should be one of us." Whoever was speaking continued. Voice smooth like flowing water, putting pressure on his immobilized body._

 _Something wet brushed at the right side of his neck. It was cold, terribly cold. His nerves shrieked. Adrenaline rushed through his every blood veins. His survival instinct kicked and he began to struggle._

" _Why are you so stubborn? Just give up already. Resistance is frustrating. When will you stop this futile idiocy?" The presence pinned him down, choking him, drowning him in its existence._

 _But for some unknown reason, he felt himself smiling. Then snickering. Then outburst laughter._

 _And through the flashing red vision, he could sense the surprise on the presence's face, if it did have one._

" **NOT EVER."**

* * *

Richard screamed as he woke out of the nightmare. It had become a routine. Every night, every single night, he would face that same dream. And deciphering it would be an impossible work.

He pushed the blanket off while getting up, his head was still spinning. He had hoped one day that goddamned dream would just vanish for good, since he was thirteen-year-old. Now? Well, he just hoped that dream would not drive him insane by causing him sleeplessness. Richard moved into the bathroom and dipped his face into a bucket of ice-cold water, it's his self-refreshing method for morning. Of course he could drink tea or coffee, but he liked water more.

The sound of bell ringing reminded him that it was work time already. Richard hardly got dressed probably for the day when a middle-aged worker entered his office with a cart full of boxes.

"Morning Mister Brooke. We've got a very busy morning." The worker handed him a lunch box. "Miss Hooper made this for you, she knows you won't have time to prepare anything for breakfast."

"Please send my thank to Molly." Richard blushed as he received the lunch box. "She is a very sweet girl."

While the engineer was munching on the salmon sandwich, the worker unpacked the boxes. There are several steam engines and mechanical parts needed to be fixed, some devices required to be upgraded and of course some new tools he had ordered. Rich casted an eye on the last, also the largest, box which had a name tag on it. It was from Mister Holmes.

"Hold there, Benny. Is it for me?" He cautiously looked at the box.

Benny rolled his eyes and pushed the box at him, "Yes, Richie dear, Mister Holmes's personal messenger brought it here and said that it must be left for you to open."

"Well, that makes it even harder for me to open! Who knows what could be in there?" The Irish man exclaimed. "Yesterday that man drove me up a wall for no reason specifically!"

The worker shrugs, "Maybe he sends you a thank-you gift for fixing his pump machine? And since Mister Holmes is an acquaintance of our company, you should perhaps get used to his… weird behaviors."

"You mean he has already done like that to someone else… before me?" Brooke's eyes opened wide with the thought of Mister Pale man harassing a girl… or a man. Well, that thought made him also feel nauseous.

"Not the way he did to you, but most of the time he requests strange things and…the rest of him you have to witness yourself." Benny chuckled. "You will be surprised."

"I am surprised enough after he offered me a very cheap apartment rent…" The younger man sighed, rubbing his temple. _As if that man hasn't caused me enough headache…_

Benny patted him on the shoulder before heading out of the room.

* * *

By lunchtime, Richard had fixed all the things that needed to be fixed but he hadn't even touched the unpacked box. But that didn't mean he had forgotten it. In fact, the box captured his mind the whole time, if someone asked, he could draw the box in its finest details or make a poem about it. Stupid box.

"Hi there Richard." Molly cheerfully rushed in the room, startling the engineer who was staring at the box. "Oh… are you doing something?"

"Ah, ugh, no… Nothing. I have just finished repairing the devices." He stood up and straightened his shirt. "Do you want to go out for lunch? I'll pay."

"Thanks!" Molly exclaimed happily and went over to the devices, checking them out while Richard getting ready to go. She came across the unfortunate box left unopened on the floor. "Aren't you going to open this?"

Richard rolled his eyes while putting on his jacket. "I will but maybe not now. Just… Just leave it there."

They were about to walk out when a small chirping sound from inside the box caught their ears. A bird?

The young engineer peeked into the box through a small hole on the side. And he gasped when a pair of eyes looked back at him. It was… a living fledgling. That urged him to immediately unpacking the box. Because who the hell would leave a small, helpless living being in a box? The fledgling chirped even more loudly as Richard opened the box larger. Inside the box was a straw nest with the small fledgling in it. _How could I not hear this little guy chirping? I must have been so busy with the devices and machines that I didn't notice it._ Richard could say he nearly burst into tears seeing the fledgling crawling over to him on its tiny legs. It thought him to be his mother.

And it was tempting. He had always wanted to have a bird, as a pet, and a companion. But receiving gift from a man he had just known for five minutes, even though the man was very rich, wasn't that abnormal?

Richard found a small piece of paper below the nest; there were some handwriting on it. 'Falco Peregrinus – bird of prey.' That was the scientific name for the peregrine falcon. His favorite avian.

 _And how could Mister Holmes know that I like to have a peregrine falcon?_

A movement at his side brought him out of his thought. The fledgling was tugging at his shirt, perhaps looking for food. Richard gently picked it up and went over to Molly, who was still waiting for him at the door.

"We should go buy some food for this little fella after lunch." And he smiled when Molly nodded her appreciation.

It turned out feeding the baby peregrine was pretty easy. The bird was so hungry that it reached out to catch the piece of meat in Richard's hand instead of waiting to be fed. Molly helped him checking the sex of the bird and they both agreed with the conclusion that it was a male one.

"Will it be okay if we keep him?" Molly carried a bowl of water over and let the falcon drink it.

"I will start reading books about bird of prey." Richard smiled like a child as the bird drank some water after finishing a dish of meat. "And I will get him a nice stick to grab on."

"And you should think of training him. I have seen nobles hunting games with their birds. But in major they prefer hawks or kestrels, those are easier to train." Molly gently petted the fledgling, earning a chirp from him. "Falcons are harder, because they hardly listen to orders…"

 **Just like you.**

Richard shuddered a bit as the sentence echoed in his mind.

 **A pretty little bird in a golden cage.**

His pupils dilated and Richard could feel his whole mind system starting to shut down.

The last thing he heard before falling backwards onto the floor was a loud, shocked cry.

 _Was that Molly or the bird?_

* * *

 _He woke up in a dark, cold room. Something wasn't right. His wrists were chained up above his head, the pain and cold searing through his skin. And it was so cold that when he breathed out, his breath immediately became a cloud of fog._

 _This dream was new._

 _His "normal" dreams contained of a snowy wood with fighting warriors, or sometimes there would be an endless plain where he stood, watching the unending sunset. However, there would always be an ominous being, lurking somewhere in his dreams, waiting to assault him, to consume him whole…_

 _The sound of creaking door startled him. He looked up as the dim light began to fill the room. A shadow of a person appeared at the doorway, blocking a part of the light._

" _It seems like you are getting more and more memory back… And that's good though." The person stepped into the room and walked closer to him. He tried to make out the face of the person, but even with the light filling the room, something kept him from seeing the face. But what was it? He tried to take a closer look, and the face of the person was still a void, a big question mark. How?_

" _You still can't make it out, can you?" The person lowered their head so their faces were very close. He gasped as the cold breath of the being in front of him ghosting over his skin. It was freezing cold, as if there was no life in it._

" _It is strange that… You keep coming back." The being wrapped their hands around his neck, squeezing. "No matter how many time they kill you… You keep coming back… What do you want?"_

 _His eyes widened as the squeezing became more intense but also at the question._

 _His breath began to be weakened. He gasped and choked hard, struggling in futile._

 _What do I want?_

 _What am I?_

* * *

A/N note: Sorry for the delay, I was busy with the examination.  
We will have Sherlock and Jim encounter each other with more plot revealed in the next chapter.  
Please give me reviews. :D


	3. Chapter 3

Sub-Species  
Characters: Sherlock Holmes, Jim Moriarty, Sebastian Moran, Mycroft Holmes, Eurus Holmes, John Watson, Gregory Lestrade …  
Mode and Age: Steampunk Victorian Era with Supernatural creatures – Sherlock AU.

Chapter 3

Richard woke up, covered in sweat. He couldn't move any part of his body, they all felt numb. For a second he thought he was still in one of his 'dreams'.

"Richard? Richard, are you alright?" Molly's voice reached his nerve. Though it was full of concern, Richard felt like his head got bonked like a bell.

"I think…" He grimaced as he tried to move his hands, and he did success. _Thank God, I'm not disabled yet…_

Molly helped Richard up and gave him a glass of water, "Do you think we should call for a doctor?"

"No, it has been like this for years, Molly. I… I am used to those… dream sequences…" The young man lowered his eyes, staring at his shaking hands, he always felt ashamed whenever he had to talk about his problems. After all, how could he be fine when talking about them? Years in the orphanage had taught him that because of those 'dreams', he could never be normal, because no normal child woke up almost every nights, screaming and kicking hysterically like a mad man just because some little 'dreams'. Richard knew, since a very young age, that he was nowhere near what people called as 'normal'.

"Hey, Richard, I know it is hard, but you at least should see the doctor for once. Enduring a severe symptom of anxiety like this is not good for your health in the future. I know a very good doctor, perhaps he can help you." The scientist tried her best to comfort him and sat down next to him. "Trust me, just this time, please?"

Brooke sighed and nodded, "Just this time, Molly. If he can't help me, please don't force me to go see any doctor again."

"Of course, I promise." Molly nodded and gently patted her colleague's back before standing up. "I will go make an appointment for you. For now, just stay there and rest… Oh by the way…"

Richard watched Molly brought the sleeping little falcon over to him.

"He had been really worried for you when you collapsed to the floor. I have to keep a good eye on him till he falls asleep so while you are now awake, you should watch over him while I go, okay?" Molly gave him the little bird.

"I will." The engineer nodded, petting the bird with his still shivering hand while watching the scientist leaving the room.

 _I hope I won't fuck up the appointment._

Although agreed on the appointment with the doctor, Molly still had to drag Richard to the doctor's.

"Doctor John H. Watson, huh, I have never heard about him…" Richard pouted as Molly pushed him into the house.

"He is a veteran military doctor, Richie. He has many years in service and I believe he is the best one you could find in London." The scientist opened the door of the doctor's office for her friend, and urged him insides. "Just tell him your problem, okay?"

"Fine." Richard rolled his eyes and stepped in the office.

* * *

The first thing that he noticed was that the room is well-kept and neatly arranged, yet not a single medical equipment can be seen. He frowned, _weird… Doctors usually have their room full of equipment, why is this place so empty?_ With a quick glance around, Richard decided it would be better if he went around for a look. Curiosity led him to look into the smallest places of the room that he could see. And the fact that he found nothing only brought him to the conclusion that this office was not made for any medical appointment.

While digging around, Richard didn't notice the office's door opened.

"Excuse me for my lateness, Mr Brooke, I had an appointment with lady… What are you doing under my desk?" The voice of a man, probably of Doctor Watson, startled Richard, causing him to jerk up, hitting himself to the lower face of the desk. _Ouch!... Hard oak wood…_

The young engineer crawled out from under the desk and looked at the doctor. "Sorry… I was just too bored waiting… I didn't mean to…"

Just as their eyes met, Richard immediately felt a dreadful cold crept over his back. The doctor's eyes glowed with ghastly blue light and his skin looked as like a corpse's rotten skin, Richard could even the bone under it. The engineer couldn't do anything except staring at the being before him with wide-opened eyes and dropped jaw until a hard slap landed on his left cheek. The pain caused his vision to change, and when he looked back at the doctor, he saw a very normal man in (perhaps) his forty with short blond hair and grey eyes, who was looking at him with a grimace on his face.

"Molly told me that you usually faint, collapse and become out cold for no reason. Was that what it is like?" The doctor spoke, though calmly, there was hint of annoyance in it.

"I am sorry… Yes, that's how it looks like… I am… I am really sorry about that." The younger man raised his hand to touch his reddened cheek and was surprised that the slap didn't make him bite his tongue.

"Go take a seat on the couch. I think we should begin the therapy session right away." Doctor Watson pointed towards the only couch in the room and Richard had no choice but to drag himself onto it.

"Doctor Wat…" Before Richard could finish the sentence, the doctor cut him short.

"Call me John. I hate when people address me by doctor this, doctor that." John puts a cup of tea into Richard's hand. _Hey… When did he make the tea?_

"Okay… Uhm, John, you know how to end my problem?" Richard sipped the tea, asking nervously.

John pulled a small chair from behind his desk and placed it next to the couch, then sat on it. "I have met people with the same problem like yours. A very long time ago though. And yeah, I have helped them deal with it."

"Are there… people that have problems like mine?" Brooke eyed the doctor with doubt. _You have to trust him, Richard, he is the best doctor that Molly knows._ "Are they still alive?"

"There is one living in near the Thames, I met him five years ago, and I guess he still lives there." John took out a notebook and picked out a card. "This is his address."

Richard received the card and began to read it. 'Sergeant Philipp Anderson, retired. 57, The Embankment, Twickenham.', and he tried to recall if he had heard of the name somewhere since he found it very, very familiar.

 **It's on the tip of my tongue.**

Richard shivered a bit at the sentence. _Christ, why do I always feel as if someone watching and speaking into my mind?_

"Mister Brooke." John lightly tapped on his hand to draw his attention. "If you are done with reading it, can we get into out session?"

"Of course, doc… Ugh, John." Richard nodded.

"Very well, lie down on the couch, face up." The doctor ordered while taking out a box from his desk.

Richard followed the instruction and lied down on the couch. He wondered what doctor Watson would do to him. After finishing the preparation, John went over to his patient and sat on the chair. He took out a small crystal orb which was chained to a thin string; somehow, the object had a very mesmerizing look.

"Now I need you to focus your eyes on this crystal orb and answer the question I give you. Do not look away from the orb whatever happens around you. Understood?" Said John, before he held the object above Richard's face.

"Just… Can I ask what this object is called? It's new to me…" The engineer poked at the orb with curiosity.

"It's called a pendulum." Doctor Watson explained and pulled his patient's hand to place on his side. "Can we begin now?"

"Uhm, yes, please." Richard nodded and got to focus his eyes on the pendulum.

With a little force applied to the string, the pendulum began to oscillate in front of Richard's eyes in a gentle, steady orbit. Richard looked at the pendulum; his eyes began to get tired as time went by.

"Where have you been last night, Mister Brooke?" John's voice rose, but that didn't help Richard less tired.

"I've been to a nearby restaurant… Then I went home…" Richard replied with monotone voice, strangely, though his eyes were now very tired, he didn't feel sleepy as all.

The pendulum's movement was steady.

"Do you hear about the case of missing people these days? And about the supernatural lurking around the city?" Doctor Watson asked. _This question is weird though…_

"Just a little…" Richard continued to focus on the pendulum, his vision started to blur.

The pendulum went left then went right.

"What was it in your last dream?" John continued asking. Richard could feel his consciousness slipping away along with his blurring vision.

"A… a dark room with no window… I was chained up in it… A person came to me… and choked me…" The younger man continued to answer, this time, there was even less emotion in his voice.

The pendulum continued to move.

"And what was it in the most frequent dream that you have?" The doctor asked.

Richard's eyes closed themselves out of his control. "A… snowy forest…"

 **Good work, my dear Watson.**

* * *

 _Where am I? Wait a minute, what has just happened?_

 _Richard opened his eyes to see he was lying in the snow. There were lots of people around him, they shouted and fought at each other with weapons like swords, axes, bows and arrows, etc. He yelped and bolted up straight to run away from the battlefield, hoping that he wouldn't get hit by a stray arrow. Wait, if this is a dream, how am I still can control myself?_

 _He ran and ran until he reached a clearing in the black wood forest. Yet, there were already two men there. One was taller than the other, he wore a wool coat and heavy knight armor, his feature was pale, like a dead corpse. Somehow, this man reminded Richard of someone he knew. The other man, who was standing with his back at Richard. He was at the same height to Richard, and wore a light cape, his armor was all leather and silk._

" _Stop fighting, you are already lost." The taller man spoke. Richard gasped as he realized the voice. It was the voice that haunted him in his every dreams._

" _Do I look like that I will surrender myself?" The shorter man bit back with thick Irish accent. Richard frowned, the man's voice was… like his?_

 _In a blink of the eyes, the shorter man dashed at the other man, with two bloodied swords in his hands. The warrior let out an intimidating battle cry and began to attack his enemy with fierce and continuous strikes. However, the knight only put his long sword into defensive position and blocked all the attacks from the Irish man._

" _You dirty vampires… Should have never been born into this world!" The Irish man shouted and kicked the taller man on the abdomen, knocking him back._

 _Vampires?_

 _Without the intention to stop, the warrior dashed at the stunned knight, ready to decapitate him. The knight only looked up, his eyes glowed in crimson color._

 _A wind-cutting sound could be heard and an arrow flew straight at the Irish warrior, hitting him at his left shoulder and effectively stopped him. Richard felt a sharp pain at his left shoulder and collapsed to the ground, so as the warrior. The taller man got up and moved over to his enemy, who was pulling the arrow out of his shoulder. In a swift moment, the knight kicked the warrior in the chest and stomped on him, pinning him to the snow._

" _Kill me now…" The Irish man spat at the knight, hissing in pain._

" _Your name." The knight coldly spoke._

" _James O Muircheartaigh, or in your British language, James Moriarty." The warrior smirked, even in pain, he still could smirk._

" _Good." The knight knelt down, still pinning his enemy to the ground. "I will remember your name."_

 _Richard watched with bleary eyes, the pain was too much for him, even the face of the warrior was now blurred by his pained vision._

 _It was until he felt a sharp pain at his neck that he fainted._

 **You are mine, mine and nothing can change that.**

* * *

A/N: So we finally have a look into Richard's past life. As James O Muircheartaigh.

Please give me review :3


	4. Chapter 4

Sub-Species  
Characters: Sherlock Holmes, Jim Moriarty, Sebastian Moran, Mycroft Holmes, Eurus Holmes, John Watson, Gregory Lestrade …  
Mode and Age: Steampunk Victorian Era with Supernatural creatures – Sherlock AU.

Chapter 4

 _Richard opened his eyes. The pain on his neck was still throbbing. He held his hand up to touch the wound, well, not wound,_ _ **wounds**_ _for exact. He could feel two small, deeply punctured holes which were dripping blood there. Whatever could cause this kind of injuries probably was not natural._

 _Wait a minute, where am I?_

 _He looked around. The place was not Dr. Watson's office. There was no couch, no desk, no shelf, no chair, no Dr. Watson… nothing. And it was not the snowy forest as well. It was just empty, like… an endless room filled with the sickly white color. Richard got up carefully, he looked down, and the ground he was standing on was of a material he had never seen before. As if it was… nothingness. Everywhere around him was blank._

" _Hello? Is anyone here?" He called out and waited a while. Not even the echo of his voice could be heard._

 _How far and large is this place?_

 _He began to walk. Even his steps felt empty. He just continued walking, not knowing where he was heading. But after all, where he was in was already a big question mark._

 _A figure slowly appeared in his sight from afar. Richard narrowed his eyes. The figure walked closer and closer to him.  
"Who are you?" The young engineer asked.  
"This is not the time for that question, Richard Brooke." This voice was new. It wasn't the voice that haunted his dream. The figure was now so close, their distance was only an arm length and Richard still couldn't see the face of the figure. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he see this figure's face?  
"Where am I?" Richard asked, for some reasons he knew this mysterious figure knew the answer.  
"Purgatory, or that is what they called. I prefer to this play as the white prison." The figure replied. Their voice was strangely sexless. "They have sent you here to separate you from the real world. You have to get out of here."  
"But how… How could I get out now?" Richard looked at the figure in frustration. Literally, he didn't even understand what was going on.  
"Close your eyes and focus." The figure said. And Richard did as they said.  
A little tinge of sound caught his attention. He could hear the chattering of people, the sound of object moving. It all became clearer the more he focused.  
"It's time to wake up, Richard Brooke. You have a mission to complete." The figure pushed on Richard's chest._

 _And he fell._

* * *

"Arghh!" Richard shrieked and bolted up right, his head hitting someone's face so hard that they fell backward and howled in pain. The engineer was still in a panic that he didn't even check who he had just hit and jolted towards the door and rushed out of the room like a bat out of hell. His instinct told him to get back to the company as quickly as he could. Outsides, it was in the rush hour of the city at night, but even with a lot of people moving back and forth like that, the fog still consume everything.

Richard ran blindly into the crowded street. The faces of the people were all blurred in his sight. The streetlights flashed on and off. Everything seemed to become an omen for a dreadful event. And he could feel it.

Something wicked this way came…

"Mister Brooke?" Someone called him from behind. He halted. It was that voice. That haunting voice.

Richard turned round, his whole body trembling. He was not ready for this. And the man called for him was… Mister Holmes?

"You ran like that someone was chasing you, Mister Brooke. Is something wrong?" Mister Holmes walked closer to him and frowned, looking worried.  
"No… Nothing's wrong. I am just in a hurry…" Richard replied, trying to calm himself down. _It must be wrong. Mister Holmes cannot be the one that haunted my dreams. It was just ridiculous.  
_ "You look feverish. Come along, I will take you to where you want to go." The taller man said and held out his hand for Richard. "It was not safe for you to go a long way in this state. You could collapse anytime."  
"It is very nice of you, sir… But I can go by myself. I… I don't want to bother you…" Richard felt his head getting faster than normal and his body started to lose temperature. _Am I getting a fever…?_  
"If you refuse my help then you are bothering me, and it is not polite to refuse someone's help, Mister Brooke. You are sweating, I can even feel the heat seeping out from your body, and most importantly…" Mister Holmes lowered his head so that their noses almost touched, "…Your pupils are dilating. All the symptoms of a man in sick are shown like in an auction, Mister Brooke. If you don't get the medicine in time, I believe you could faint in less than an hour."  
Richard gasps, his breaths ragged. Yes, he was sweating, his whole body trembled and he was losing temperature. Mister Holmes was right, he wouldn't last an hour. It seemed like walking away would result badly.  
"Please, take me back to the company. I have kept some medicine there in case I get sick…" Richard lowered his eyes, cutting off the eye contact between them. He was also blushing. Maybe just because he was in fever.  
"Very well." Mister Holmes said and gently but firmly grabs the smaller man's wrist. "My car is waiting, let's go."  
Richard nodded and let himself be led to a waiting black car and be ushered into its passenger's seat. Mister Holmes got to sit right next to him then ordered for the driver to drive the car.  
"Call me Sherlock." Mister Holmes said, making Richard surprised.  
"Okay… Uhm, thank you, Mister… Sherlock…" The young engineer casted a glance at the weird gentleman next to him. _Benny was right though, this man is not normal._  
Sherlock just nodded and took out some pills from a pocket of his coat, giving Richard one of them. "I have some flu medicine with me, perhaps you can use some."  
Richard's instinct screamed at him not to drink the pill but for some unknown reason, he was tempted to drink it. Mister Holmes's eyes were on him, ushered him to take the pill.  
"Well, I don't put anything in it, please don't be worried." Sherlock said then popped a pill in his mouth, swallowed it with a little water from a bottle he carried in his coat. "See? It is safe in case you don't trust stranger like me."  
The young man hesitated a bit but drank the pill anyway. The taste was just like any other medicine, so Richard was relieving a bit. He felt the fever subsided almost instantly but he still felt very tired.

The way to the company seemed to lengthen itself. He started to get sleepy.

In the trance between awake and asleep, Richard leaned his head against Mister Holmes's shoulder. Something was on the radio, as if someone was speaking in a hurry. Richard's brain started to shut down. He felt a cold hand reached his cheek and gently stroke it, but he was too tired to do anything. All he wanted now was to sleep.

Someone speaking about the city was under attack was the last thing he heard before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

A strangely dreamless slumber.

* * *

A/N: Okay, we get more information now. So John was not a very good person, was he? Or who was the villain here?  
Please give me review :D


	5. Interval

Interval

There has been someone asking me about Jim's constant rebirth and Sherlock's life. So here is my answer:  
-Sherlock's life will be revealed soon, not now yet, but I can tell you that he has been living for more than 7 decades, counting that the time Richard Brook exists is in Victorian era, between 1800s and 1900s.

-Richard Brooke, as most people have figured out that is not the first "Jim Moriarty", before Brooke there have been 13 other incarnations of "Moriarty", the first, or Cycle 0, is James Muircheartaigh. The other ones will be revealed later.

If you have anything that want to discuss with me, contact me through my email: buffaloborgine .

By the way, I am happy with anyone who wants to work on the fics with me. :3


	6. Chapter 5

Sub-Species  
Characters: Sherlock Holmes, Jim Moriarty, Sebastian Moran, Mycroft Holmes, Eurus Holmes, John Watson, Gregory Lestrade …  
Mode and Age: Steampunk Victorian Era with Supernatural creatures – Sherlock AU.

* * *

Chapter 5

During the time Richard was half awoke, half asleep, he noticed that he was lying on a bed so soft that it was like lying in the cloud. The room was also very large, larger than his office a lot. Well, maybe he was in heaven…

Something softly furry and huge wrapped around him like a giant fluffy blanket, it nudged him at the side and rubbed his back in a caring way, lulling him back into sleep. And for some reason, Richard thought that he had heard the 'blanket' purring, like a big cat.

* * *

Richard opened his eyes. The dim light in the room was strangely comfortable to his eyes. He sat up and looked around. This place was definitely not his office in the company, and properly not a room in a common house. The way this room was decorated showed that it belonged to some noble's mansion. There was only one wooden door and no window so this room was probably inside the mansion. Richard tried to get up and found that his legs were shaking like leaves in autumn so he decided to stay on the bed for safety.

He continued to explore the room with his eyes. There were several furniture in the room, but there was still a lot of space, seemed like there hadn't been people living here for quite a while. The chandelier in the middle of the ceiling looked weird too, its light was kind like red more than white but the color didn't hurt Richard's eyes so he was fine with it. There was a large shelf full of books on it, the books looked well taken care of and that made everything in this room weirder.

Wait a minute!... _Why the heck am I here? Wasn't I supposed to be in my office? Didn't Mister Holmes bring me there? Why did…_

Richard got up straight. Something was wrong. He needed to get out of this room as soon as possible. The young engineer ran to the heavy oak wood door of the room and tried to open it, only to groan in frustration as there wasn't even the door knob on this side of the door. In his desperation, Richard slammed his body on the door so hard that he dislocated his own shoulder. _Fuck this door, how could it be so heavy…?_

While Richard was still trying to relocate his humerus back into its scapula, the door was abruptly opened and hit him straight in the face, knocking him to the floor.  
"Oh my God! I am so sorry, dear? Are you okay?" _Female, in her 60, probably a housekeeper…_ The old woman knelt down to reach Richard, who lied prone on the floor. "Jesus, your nose is bleeding! Wait there till I get the first-aid kit."  
 _She speaks like that I could stand up and walk away with a broken nose and a dislocated shoulder…  
_ The old lady came back after a while and helped Richard back on the bed before tending to his bleeding nose.  
"Why didn't you stay on the bed? You are still recovering!" The old lady exclaimed while holding a cotton gag to his nose to stop the bleeding. "And why did you stand behind the door? Doors are dangerous, I tell you."  
"I… I need to go…" Richard tried his best to make comprehensible words with his damaged nose.  
"Young man, I don't know what business you are in but you are not going anywhere in this state!" The old lady snapped and jerked at his dislocated arm to relocate his shoulder, making him howl in pain.  
"Jesus! That hurts!" Richard exclaimed and tried to move away from lady, who was doing more damage to him than a falling piano could do.  
"Of course it hurts, you crybaby. Next time, be careful around doors." The old lady stood up after finishing her treatment and was about to leave.  
"Wait…! Can you at least tell me who you are and where this place is? Please… I am really terrified not knowing where I am…" Richard did his best mimicry of puppy eyes to the old lady. _I hope she will help me out of this situation…  
_ "You can call me Mrs. Hudson. And this place is the Holmes mansion. I am the butler of the mansion." Mrs. Hudson answered his question and before he could continue asking, she added. "And no. You are not allowed to come out of this room till you have recovered. It's for your safety."  
Richard watched the lady butler walked out of the room and closed the door with a sigh. Rolling his eyes, he fell back down onto the bed, carefully not to hurt his shoulder.  
 _Goddamn you, Mister Holmes… I told you to bring me back to the company… Argh…_

* * *

After several hours, Mrs. Hudson came back with a tray containing a bowl of soup, a teapot and a teacup. Richard sat up, thankfully, his nose had stopped bleeding.  
"You look better than before, my dear." The lady butler placed the tray on the nightstand and brought the bowl of soup over to him. "Here, have some hot soup. It will help you recover."  
Richard quietly thanked the old lady and ate the soup. He didn't know if it was because he was sick or the soup was truly good that he found himself enjoying it very much. He finished the bowl in just a few minutes.  
"Wow, you must be very hungry, Richard. Do you want to have another bowl?" Mrs. Hudson smiled proudly and gently patted him on the head like an actual puppy.  
"If that is okay, then please." Richard nodded. Well, she did cook very good soup, why refusing?

"Mrs. Hudson." The low, deep and haunting voice rose.

Both Richard and Mrs. Hudson looked towards the door at the same time. Mister Holmes was standing there, in his formal suit and the cloak he always wore. Richard glanced the old lady, there was a brief expression mixed of fear and shock but then she returned to her normal cheery state.  
"Sherlock! When did you return? Oh I should go do the chores. And make lunch for you too." The lady butler hurriedly walked out of the room, leaving Richard alone with Mister Holmes.  
Richard looked up at the other man, his eyes narrowed sharply.  
"I guess you know what I want to know, don't you?" The young engineer asked, his voice showed irritation.  
"Yes, I know. I brought you to my mansion because there has been a riot in the city. All the routes lead to your company were blocked and it was also dangerous to head there as your company was right in the center of the riot. It was an emergency case." The pale man replied horribly calmly, as if nothing wrong had happened.  
"You could just have woken me up and told me about the situation instead of taking me to your mansion and locking me in a room! I did tell you to take me back to the company, if you want to change the location you have to inform me!" Richard stood up straight from the bed and burst out his rage, his doe-liked eyes opened wide, burning with fire of anger.

He had expected that Holmes would take his reaction seriously…

"Hahahahahahahah… hahaha… hahhh…!" Mister Holmes laughed so hard that he doubled up. "Oh my God, you look so adorable when you are angry you know… Oh my God… I will die laughing…"  
Richard was stunned by the reaction and stared at the man before him, who was still laughing, in confusion.

 _What is this man made of?_

After a while, Mister Holmes stopped laughing and took seat on a chair in the room. "I admit that was wrong on not informing you about the changes I made… But you would have been in danger if I didn't changed the route. Will you forgive me?"  
Richard would have said no if the man in front of him didn't put up a puppy look. _Are you fucking serious?_  
"Fine." Richard pouted and huffed. "But don't think that I do forgive you for laughing at my face."  
"Well, I didn't expect that you will." Mister Holmes smiled, somehow sincerely. "By the way, I did have my people come to the company and bring your falcon out…"  
"You did? Where is him?" Richard exclaimed. He had almost forgotten the little guy though.  
"I will have my servant bring him to you. He is being fed and please don't be worried, he didn't get hurt." The noble smiled amusedly at the way the young man reacted.  
Richard sighed in relief. _At least things aren't too bad…_  
"Hmm… I think I have to go now." Mister Holmes stood up after checking his pocket watch. "If it's okay, I hope we can have dinner together, Mister Brooke."  
"Call me Richard, Mister Holmes." The young engineer watched as the noble man picked up his cane and his cloak.  
"Then call me Sherlock, Richard." Mister Holmes smirked and walked out of the room. "See you later."  
Richard watched and wondered to himself what kind of business that the man could have in this riot of city.

* * *

Richard was peeking into the books on the shelf when the door opened.

A tall man, who was even taller than Sherlock Holmes, with short blond hair and blue eyes, stepped into the room. The man wore butler uniform, but somehow he looked more like a military man than a butler. A scar crossed his face, making him look very wild, yep, wild like a beast.

"Hello, Mister Brooke." The man bowed, with strange politeness that Richard had thought he couldn't have. "I am Sebastian Augustus Moran, chief of staff of the Holmes family."  
"It's… nice to meet you, Mister Moran…" Richard didn't even know why he was babbling and shaking. This Moran man seriously had some kind of intimidating aura.  
"Lord Holmes told me to bring your pet to you." The chief of staff brought out a cage, which contained the fledgling falcon, who chirped happily upon seeing Richard.  
"Th-thank you very much." Richard swallowed as he received the cage.  
"If you need anything else, please call for me." Sebastian smiled. "Mrs Hudson, the Majordomo, is quite busy with taking care of the whole mansion and keeping people in check, so I hope if you can, please don't bother her. I am now tasked with taking care of you, Mister Brooke."  
"Please call me Richard…" The young man scratched his head, not knowing how to getting accustomed to the way people here addressing him. "By the way… Can I go out of this room? It's getting a bit uncomfortable for me…"  
"Of course, Mister… Uhm, Richard. You are free to go around the mansion." Moran shrugged. "But with the riot in the city, Mister Holmes forbade exiting the mansion. It is for your safety, I hope you will understand."  
"So… I can go all around the mansion, but not getting out of it…" Richard summarized the answer of the chief of staff. "I guess I will have to follow that instruction then…"  
"Thank you, Richard." Sebastian smiled. "Now, if you don't require me around, I will go back to my work."  
"Sure. I don't mind." Richard nodded, holding the cage close to him.  
With a polite bow, Moran quickly walked out of the room, leaving the door opened.

Richard opened the cage and let Falco (he decided to call the fledgling so) climb into his shirt's pocket. He then peeked out of the door, finding himself looking at a long, dark corridor, lit up by candles.

A strange feeling crept up his spine.

Somehow Richard felt that he had been to this place before.

A dark, endless corridor.

* * *

A/N: Right, so we have the new characters appear. The majordomo and the chief of staff of the Holmes mansion, Mrs Hudson and Sebastian Moran.  
And the falcon, yeah, I didn't forget him. He also gets a name now :3  
Guess what had wrapped up Richard in the beginning of this chap. I believe you will like it when you figure out what it is. :3  
Please give me reviews. :3


	7. Chapter 6

Sub-Species  
Characters: Sherlock Holmes, Jim Moriarty, Sebastian Moran, Mycroft Holmes, Eurus Holmes, John Watson, Gregory Lestrade …  
Mode and Age: Steampunk Victorian Era with Supernatural creatures – Sherlock AU.

* * *

Chapter 6

" _Is it possible that the past can come back and haunt us?"_

* * *

Richard picked up a candle dish and began to explore the corridor.

The walls of the corridor were made of hard stones, the kind of granite that could be found in Wales. He ran his hands on the wall, feeling the cold temperature. Richard thought for a while, combining the information of sounds, echoes, temperature, pressure and other things, he decided that he was in an underground dungeon.

As he continued to walk, he finally reached a stairway that led to the floor above. Richard looked up, at the other end of the stairway; there was a door, lit up by the light of the upper house. Falco chirped and poked at his human's shirt, urging him to go up. Richard set the candle dish aside and walked up the stairs.

The house upstairs were the most luxurious place Richard had ever visited. He was so amazed by the sparkling light of the place that he was stunned for a while. Suddenly, a figure ran past a door of the long hall, catching Richard's sight. The young engineer frowned and ran after the figure, who was just about his height but had an amazing speed. And the strangest thing was that the figure ran with absolutely no sound.

 _Anyway, that person is wearing a mask, aren't they?_

The chase led Richard to another downward stairway, absolutely not the one that Richard came out off, but this mansion was like a labyrinth, how could anything be distinguished from each other? It came to a moment when the hall was so dark that he lost trace of the figure. Richard quickly lit up his emergency lamp and looked for the figure.

He found himself in a very large hall, full of sheet-covered stuffs. The smell of old wood and the layer of dust in this place told Richard that it hadn't been touched for at least a year. Richard set the lamp down on something that looked like a table (he guessed) and began his exploration.

* * *

After half an hour checking around the veiled objects, Richard decided that this hall was actually a storeroom. There were plenty of things in the hall, like old furniture and old tools. Well, a lot of mansions have this kind of storeroom, since they had a lot of stuffs, and when those stuffs were no longer needed, they were piled up in the storeroom.

Richard was fascinated with some musical instruments left in a corner of the storeroom like an antique piano with ivory keys. It caught his attention just as he peeked under the cloth covering it. Richard gently tapped on the keys, listening to the elegant notes. He had never attended any music course, never had chance to, but he had always wanted to learn a bit of it. Richard pulled out the chair of the piano and sat on it. Hovering his hands above keys, he imagined how he would look like if he had studied to be a pianist, not an engineer like now.

"Ping."

An E note sang out in the silence of the hall.

And Richard's hands were still above the keys of the piano, untouched. He stared at the key where the note came from and felt his spine frozen.

Standing beside him and the piano was the cloaked and masked man, who had placed his finger on the key. A pale, lifeless finger.

"Who are you…?" Richard stammered, his tongue couldn't even function normally.

The stranger said nothing, only placed his hands on the sides of Richard's face and looked into his eyes. Through the bird-skull-like with feathers mask, Richard could see the pair of obsidian black eyes staring into his in a mesmerizing way.

Then with a blink, Richard felt himself falling into the dark nothingness. Just like last time when he was sent out of Purgatory, but this time, it seemed that he wasn't sent out of anything except from reality.

 _Richard woke up in a world of white, just as he had expected. He got up on his feet and looked around._

 _No. This time was different. Everything around him was white. But it was not an empty place like before. This place was like a white-washed version of the storeroom he was in._

 _He began to look for the masked man. As expected, that man was right behind him._

" _Who are you? Why did you bring me here?" Richard asked as calmly as he could.  
"They called me Angel. And that's just a name, I am no divine entity." The man's voice could be heard all around the place but he didn't even move his mouth.  
"How could I hear you don't even speak…?" Richard frowned. This is weird enough.  
"When I was still alive, I am mute and blind. I can only communicate once I am in this… memory plane." The man answered, stepping a bit closer to Richard.  
"Wait… So you are dead already?" Richard regret asking the question immediately. Because it was like asking a ghost if they were dead.  
Angel nodded. And Richard somehow felt as if he had known him for long ago.  
The young engineer looked at the man, observing him up and down. They were at the same height, even their skins were of the same level of alabaster. Richard reached out to Angel's mask, the temptation to take it off was so strong. _

_Just before Richard could touch the man's mask, something appeared in his hands. It was another mask that resembles a mechanical bird skull, crafted with gears and metal pieces._

" _I see that He has given you a mask as well." Angel looked at the mask in Richard's hand and smiled. "This one looked stranger than the other masks a lot…"  
"Other? Are there many other people wearing masks like you?" Richard felt confused. How many people like this man were out there?  
"Not many, but I guess there are more than five. I have met only a few." Angel sighed. "… But your mission is to find them all… then fulfill our Creator's wish."  
"Our Creator?" Richard was so astonished. Hadn't he been born by his parents? What is this Creator thing?  
Angel gave a quiet sigh, and took off his mask, revealing a face… of Richard himself.  
"Take a seat… I will try my best to explain about this…" Angel said and sat down on the ground. _

…

" _So, as I understand… I have been reincarnated times over times? And that you were… one of my incarnations?" Richard tried to sum up what Angel had told him.  
"The memory of one of your incarnations. I am just a piece of Angel's memory left behind after his death." Angel, or Angel's memory for exact, replied.  
"And that I was first created by some entity, the faceless figure that I have met in the Purgatory, to do something for him?" Richard continued. "But… do what?"  
"I don't know for exact, but it is about destroying something, even when I was alive, I didn't have any clue… Only after my death and I continue to exist like this… He came and told me that I will have to meet my next incarnations and tell them about His will." Angel sighed deeply. "Perhaps when you meet the other incarnations' memories, they will be able to tell you more about it."  
"How can you be sure that there aren't any living incarnations other than me?" Richard poked at his mask, which he realizes resembling a magpie skull.  
"Only one incarnation can exist at a time. Your existence means the last incarnation had died." Angel explained with a bit of sadness in his voice.  
"So… What should I do now? I don't even know any of the incarnations' memories and of course that I cannot find them..." Richard scratched his head. "And how long have I been in this soul world?"  
"Time stop here, so there hasn't been much time past when I brought you here." Angel answered. "Hmm, I think I have forgotten one thing… Every mask has its own power. Mine, well, gave me the power of healing. I can heal almost any wounds and injuries. That's how I managed to survived a lot of things…"  
"Lucky for you, I don't even know what my mask can do…" Richard put on his mask. The vision through the mask was weird, he thought. _

_All of a sudden, Richard's mask resonated with Angel's mask, absorbing the other mask into it right in front of the two's widened eyes. Once the progress was done, Richard watched in shock as Angel's memory began to fade away._

" _I see…" Angel smiled. "Your mask took others' masks into it… taking their powers. I guess the Creator had planned for this… You are… His last attempt at doing whatever He had been trying to do…"  
"Impossible… I know nothing about it." Richard exclaimed as he now could barely see Angel. "Wait! Don't leave! I still…"  
Angel had faded into nothingness before Richard could finish the sentence, leaving Richard confused and clueless. _

_With a mental shock, everything went black and collapsed around Richard._

 _He felt._

"Mister Brook?" Someone shook him a bit. "Mister Brook!"  
"Ahh…?" Richard opened his eyes, finding Sebastian in front of him. Everything around had returned to normal.  
"Are you okay? I found you on the floor, barely breathing." The chief of staff picked Richard up in bridal style. "Please tell me what happened while I brought you back to your room."  
"It's nothing… I usually faint like that…" Richard replied weakly, clinging onto Sebastian as he was carried to his room. Sebastian's scent reminded him of a cat. "Do you usually playing with cat?"  
"Just a bit… There is a wild cat living in the garden of the mansion, I often feed it." Sebastian brought Richard into his room and set him on the bed. "I will go get you some water."  
Richard just nodded and lied on the bed. Falco chirped as it climbed out of his shirt, sitting on his chest.  
"I think… Everything has just started…" Richard mumbled, staring at the ceiling.

 **Yes, everything has just begun.**

* * *

A/N: Ah… We have just got to the start of everything. Don't worry, I will explore Sherlock and Jim's relationship later. Just wait till the next chapter.


	8. Chapter 7

Sub-Species  
Characters: Sherlock Holmes, Jim Moriarty, Sebastian Moran, Mycroft Holmes, Eurus Holmes, John Watson, Gregory Lestrade …  
Mode and Age: Steampunk Victorian Era with Supernatural creatures – Sherlock AU.

* * *

Chapter 7

" **Acting naïve is a good tactic in most situations, honey, just not in this one."**

Richard spent most of his free time (not that there was much free time since the works in the company was up to the eyes) in the mansion to dig around, peaking into unlocked rooms and exploring the floors as much as he could. Of course if subjugating the amount of time he avoided Mister Holmes and the chief of staff, his exploring time was, well, strictly limited.

After Mister Holmes announced that the riot was put out, which took three days, Richard was allowed to go back to work.

Everything was clearly abnormally normal after the riot. Richard did notice that but he was more interested in working so he put that aside.

Only in a short amount of time, one month and a half for exact, Richard became an experienced engineer that sometimes gave out adorable ideas that everyone loved. He was given a private workshop at the back of the company, where he could freely create whatever he liked. If he said he disliked this new addition, he would be lying but… his instinct told him that something was not right.

 _It was easy. Too easy._

And strangely, even more works came to him, as if distracting him from whatever he was trying to find out in Mister Holmes' mansion.

Falco grew up fast.  
The fledgling only took half a month to grow up to double its original size and by current time, it was growing feathers. And that made Richard happy.  
Richard always carried Falco along to work and let it stay on a small tree branch in the workshop while he worked. Falco grew up seeing many people around so it wasn't startled when someone came into the workshop to give Richard things like orders, equipment, food and drink.

While the Irish engineer was experimenting on a new model of steam engine, he almost missed the arrival of someone into his room. Once he realized that someone was in the room, that person's breath had already reached his neck.  
"AH?!" He yelped out, startled and turned round to face the man and he almost felt as if his heart jumped out of his throat when he was faced with a bloodless white face with glowing blue eyes.

That caused him to freak out again and he hit the person straight in the face with the hammer he was holding in hand, which effectively knocked the man off and gave him time to hide after the desk, still shrieking in panic.

After that, the nearby workers rushed into the workshop to aid the poor engineer, who was shaking like a leaf when found.  
"Richard, you are alright… Nothing wrong happened…" Benny's voice came to his nerve. "Calm down, boy."  
Richard tried to steady his breath, and when his nerve came back to normal state, he found that he was being held down by not one but three workers, including Benny of course. It was weird just to think of how it needed three huge men to hold a small, malnutritioned man like himself.  
"I bet you must have been spooked by Mister Holmes's arrival, huh?" Benny helped Richard up and gave him a glass of water to drink.

 _Mister Holmes? What? How… Oh…_

"Of course, he did, if no, he wouldn't hit me that hard with the hammer." Mister Holmes walked over to them, holding his handkerchief at his left cheek, which was badly bruised. "I didn't expect you to have such powerful force, Richard…"

Richard blushed lightly. _That is clearly not a complement, don't be proud about it._ "I'm very sorry… Sherlock."

"Apology accepted." Mister Holmes nodded and looked over to the workers. "Can we have some privacy, please?"

The workers, including Benny, all nodded and they all headed out of the workshop, leaving Richard and Sherlock alone.

"What is that device you are working on?" Sherlock poked at the steam engine. "You seem… indulged in it."  
"Erh… it is a new model for the steam engine that is currently used by trains. I want to improve it so I design a new model. It is still in testing phase." Richard took out a wooden chair for his guest.  
"I see. It is impressive." The noble nodded with amusement, then turned to look at the engineer. "By the way, are you free this evening?"  
"This evening?" Richard blinked, sorting through his schedule in his mind, then nodded. "Yeah… I think I am free. But… is there anything you require me?"

Sherlock took out a piece of paper from the inner pocket of his coat, handing it to Richard. It was a theatre ticket.

"I heard that you are interested in theatrical plays, especially Shakespeare's. Tonight they will play Macbeth in the central theatre so I bought you a ticket." He said simply before heading out of the workshop. "Don't forget to come."

Richard stared at the ticket, confused and unknown of what to do next. He sighed and placed the ticket into his trousers' pocket.

 _Molly must have told Mister Holmes about my liking of theatre… But talking of Molly, where is she now?_

After work, Richard brought Falco back to the mansion and gave the bird to Sebastian's care, as Mister Holmes insisted him to, saying that Sebastian hardly had anything to do in the mansion.

"Are you coming to the play this evening, Richard?" The chief of staff asked.  
"I am. Well, I cannot waste such a good ticket he bought me…" Richard smiled, subconsciously blushing, only when he heard Sebastian chuckling did he noticed that he was blushing.  
"By the way, you can't go to the theatre wearing clothes like that." Moran said then walked away for a while. He came back with a suit and handed it to Richard. "Here, you can borrow Lord Holmes's suit, he won't mind if it is you who wear it."  
Richard hesitantly took the suit and looked it over. The suit was of dark brown tone with silver lines, the buttons were all silvery and well-crafted with some sort of symbols on them. The shirt was ivory white, though it was clean and neat, Richard had a feeling that it was made long ago. And there were a black satin cravat along with a pair of silver cufflinks.  
"Isn't it a bit too… formal?" Richard looked up and down the set, wondering what to put on first.  
"Do you need help putting it on?" Sebastian gave Richard a stern look, which made the Irish man shiver.  
Richard gulped a lump in his throat and shook his head. "No. Thank you. I can do it myself." Then he walked to his room with the suit.

It was not that difficult if he had been raised up being an aristocrat, the truth was, he wasn't. The only suit he had was the old three-piece suit he received from the headmaster of the orphanage where he grown up. At least he knew the basic order of the pieces, he guessed. While he was thinking of which to put on next after having the basic pieces on, Sebastian came into the room.  
"Jesus Christ… You look like a disaster…" The chief of staff rolled his eyes and went over to Richard, quickly stripping all the clothes off Richard (of course Richard was quick to hold back his underwear), then putting the clothes on Richard in the right order. The poor little man blushed the whole time.  
"There you go." Sebastian finished dressing Richard up with tying the shoelaces. "Don't be ashamed, you are not the first one I help with dressing up."  
"Oh… Okay." Richard nodded, knowing that he still looked awkward as hell.  
Sebastian brought Richard a pocket watch, a top hat and a walking cane, showing him how to handle them.  
"Right, that will be enough. You are ready to go." Sebastian smiled and led Richard to a waiting horsecart outside the mansion. "You have twenty minutes before the play starts. Remember to show your ticket." He pushed Richard into the cart and signaled for the driver to drive away. "Have a good night, Mister Brooke."  
Richard had to hold onto the sides of the cart so as not to roll around as it sped up in the narrow streets.

Once the driver pulled the cart up before the grand theatre, Richard almost crawled out of it due to his dizziness.

 _Now I know why they need to carry walking canes along…_

After the nauseous feeling eased, Richard found himself having only three minutes left to get in the theatre so he ran like a bat out of hell into the building.  
Upon entering the auditorium, an usher guided Richard to his seat, which was in a private booth of noble class where the view of the stage was of the best quality. The young man clumsily got into his seat and put on the hand-holding mask the usher gave him.  
"Finally, you are here." The voice of the man next to him rose, startling him. He realized it was Mister Holmes who sat next to him on the comfortable couch. "Good evening, Richard."  
"Good… Good evening, Sherlock…" Richard panted, reminding himself to stay calm. _Who else could it be_  
"You look nice. Did Moran give you that suit?" The taller man chuckled, seemingly inhaling the air around Richard.  
"Thanks… And yeah, this was your suit, he told me I can borrow it, I hope you won't mind…" Richard felt a bit uncomfortable. Some kind of aura emitting from Mister Holmes made him nervous.  
"It's alright." Sherlock sounded lightly disappointed. "Anyway, the curtain is rising."  
Richard looked over to the stage, watching with amazement as this was his first time being in a national theatre. Everything was so glamorous and shiny to him. It made him feel like this was the first time he had ever seen a play, renewing his experience.

And he was so absorbed in the perfection of the stage that he didn't notice a third person entering the private booth.

But Sherlock did though. They seemed to know each other well.

The play ended after three hours and Richard's stomach growled to remind him that he hadn't had dinner.

"Do you want to go to restaurant, Richard?" Mister Holmes got up from his seat, helping the Irish man up as well.  
"I think I will buy some sandwiches on the way back…" Richard smiled, blushing lightly. The play was too much of an offer from Mister Holmes and Richard wasn't ready to get another one. He excused himself and walked towards the exit of the booth.

Something didn't seem right.

Just as Richard stepped out of the booth, a shadow loomed over him. An invisible force pressured onto him, immobilizing him. Richard felt his throat being choked, pressed hard and tight. He struggled, nothing happened. He felt that he would get crushed under this pressure if he did not manage to escape.

But first… What was going on?

Just when Richard thought he was hopeless, something happened. The pressure was abruptly gone, leaving Richard collapsed onto the ground.

"Stop it, brother. I don't want to fight you here and now." Sherlock's voice rose. "He is mine."

 _What…?_

"I have told you to get rid of him, Sherlock." A new voice rose, sounded sharp and threatening.  
"That was no problem of yours, brother mine. Back off." Sherlock continued, this time his voice sounded threatening as well.

 _Just what the fuck is going on?_

Richard coughed as he tried to get up; however, a pair of arms grabbed him at the shoulders and pulled him, slamming him to the wall. The impact was so powerful that Richard saw stars in his eyes.

His vision returned after a short while. In front of him was the face of Mister Sherlock Holmes in a twisted way, blue glowing eyes, white pale skin and fangs showing through his lips. Richard's peripheral vision captured a figure of a man with deep red eyes and pale skin, _wearing suit and a mask, a noble, Sherlock Holmes's brother…_

" **I'm very sorry, Richard. But it seems the cat is out of the bag now."** Sherlock spoke, his voice low and echoing.

Then in a blink of an eye, Richard felt a sharp pain at his neck, something sharp punctured through his skin and jugular vein. He gasped, struggling and thrashing, hoping to get rid of the pain to no avail. His body went numb and his vision faded.

Everything went black.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for taking long to update this fic. I hope it will come up to your expectation.  
Introducing a new (familiar) character. And the cat is out of the bag. Or... is it?


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